N.M. Stat. § 35-5-8
Magistrate court; indigency standard; fee schedule;
reimbursement.
A. The magistrate court shall use a standard adopted by the public defender
department to determine indigency of persons accused of crimes carrying a possible jail
sentence.
B. The magistrate court shall use a fee schedule adopted by the public defender
department when appointing attorneys to represent defendants who are financially
unable to obtain private counsel.
C. The magistrate court shall order reimbursement from each person who has
received or desires to receive legal representation or another benefit under the Public
Defender Act [Chapter 31, Article 15 NMSA 1978] after a determination is made that he
was not indigent according to the standard for indigency adopted by the public defender
department.
D. Any amounts recovered pursuant to this section shall be paid to the state
treasurer for credit to the general fund.